


Pearl And Steven Go Shopping

by orphan_account



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, Mundane, One-Shot, Shopping, first fic, light - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-24
Updated: 2016-09-24
Packaged: 2018-08-17 01:41:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8125593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Steve and Pearl go shopping. That's about it.





	

 

The sea breeze, cool and sharpened with salt, passed through a mesh grille, and into the kitchen of the timber home, depositing another layer of salt crust on the countertop, only to be dissolved and absorbed as a damp cloth scoured the surface. The smell of lasagne, an uncommon treat in the Universe household, resisted the onslaught of fresh ocean air as Pearl finished cleaning up after herself. The satisfaction of a perfectly executed process pushed up into her chest and spilled out from between her lips as an aimless, humming ditty that carried across the open interior of the house, finding its way to the ears of Steven Universe himself.

Steven lay sprawled across a blanket, staring out the large windows that afforded him a vantage point over the stretch of beach that eventually curved around and disappeared behind the rocky cliff that forded the brunt of the coastal weather. No such weather was present that day, however. The sound of small waves gently lapping at the shore rang softly in Steven's ears, though his mind was deeply immersed in his new book, a tale of charming, roguish space-faring adventurers that made his heart quicken and breath hitch. Beyond the excitement of the book, however, it was one of the many 'normal' days that spaced out Steven's fantastical experiences with his guardians.

Pearl dusted off her hands, three sharp, staccato sounds cutting through the atmosphere. Concentrating, she pulled a compact brown wallet from her gem in a flash of light, accompanied with a slight flourish, and rifled through its contents.

"Steven, I'm going out to buy groceries, I'll be back soon." Pearl snapped the wallet closed, satisfied. Steven scrambled to his feet, taking a flying leap off the raised edge of his bedroom. Narrowly avoiding a ceiling beam, he managed to land softly by Pearl as she made to open the door.

"Can I come too?" Pearl blinked in surprise.

"I don't see why not," she said, opening the door, "I didn't think you'd be interested in such a mundane task."

"Well, usually not," Steven slipped into his sandals. "But then I realised I don't know how Gems buy their groceries!"

"Eating wasn't something that was usually done on Homeworld, Steven." Pearls glanced over the ocean, catching glints of light from tiny ripples in the vast surface.

"I guess not, but what about the first time?" Steven kicked a stone absentmindedly.

"The first time?"

"That you guys bought stuff! Here on Earth." Steven looked up at her expectantly.

"Oh! Well," She took a moment to think. "I suppose our first purchase was during early human civilisation, a large amount of refined iron."

"Cool! What for!"

"We used it to preserve the structural integrity of parts of the inner temple, after the war the Crystal Heart ended up entering a state of-"

"Hey look! It's Garnet!" Steven ran ahead of Pearl, leaving her to stand on the beach mid-sentence. Garnet herself was reclining on a fold-out beach chair, staring into the sky from behind her omnipresent visor, looking to all the world like just another person enjoying a balmy Saturday afternoon, despite the odd looks she drew from the few new tourists that occupied the boardwalk.

Without looking away from the heavens, she reciprocated Steven's energetic high-five flawlessly.

"It's a beautiful day." Pearl heard Garnet say as she closed the distance.

"Yeah. It is." Steven fell silent, eyes flitting about the flawlessly blue sky. The breeze picked up again, ruffling his hair. Blinking himself from his trance, Steven noticed Pearl looking over at them, face unreadable. "Pearl and I are going grocery shopping, wanna come?" The corners of Garnet's mouth turned up slightly.

"I'm good. But if you hurry, you might be in time to get the last toffee apple." Steven's expression morphed back into one of excitement. Grabbing Pearl's wrist, he made to tug her towards the store. Instead, Pearl went toppling over into the sand, emerging from deep though in an embarrassing instant. Steven's hands flew to his mouth, a stream of apologies flying forth. Pearl quickly got back to her feet. Garnet might have chuckled.

"I'm so sorry it's just sometimes I'm strong when I don't mean to like when I broke a plate the other day trying to catch it when I fell over and I squeezed it too hard and I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to-" Pearl raised a hand, brushing herself off with the other.

"It's perfectly fine, Steven, I was simply distracted." As an afterthought, she added; "But next time you break something, make sure to tell me. Now I have to apologise to Amethyst for assuming she'd... eaten it or something equally ridiculous." Steven nodded mutely.

They left Garnet behind, making their way through the town to the store without any incidents. A large styrofoam block had been anchored to a table outside, adorned with a small sign claiming that toffee apples were being sold for the low, low price of a dollar. The block was, however, lacking in any actual apples, toffee or otherwise. Steven tried to hide his disappointment, walking into the store behind Pearl. The store clerk barely glanced up from his magazine as Pearl made a beeline for the fresh foods area. Steven had trouble keeping up as she made her way around the store with ruthless efficiency, barely glancing at items before placing them carefully in her basket. Before long the entire process had been done, Pearl producing the exact payment before the cashier had even rung up the total. So it was that Steven suddenly found himself squinting against the sun, standing on the hot sidewalk.

"And now you know," Pearl said with a flourish, "how a Gem shops." Steven shielded his eyes from the sun.

"It was definitely... fast?"

"The key is careful foreplanning, Steven. Knowing the exact price and location of each item to achieve maximum swiftness and efficiency..." She hit her upturned palm with the base of her fist. "It's rewarding work."

The cool of the shadow aided them as they made their way back through town, strolling along the boardwalk with the wind in their hair. Steven greeted the few residents that were out and about, enjoying the waning afternoon sun as it slowly dipped towards the horizon. Garnet was still nestled in her chair, staring directly into the brilliant disk of light. Pearl felt a pang of... something, seeing Garnet content to just lie in the sun, enjoying the passive rewards of being what she is for hours on end. She looked down at Steven, walking beside her with his eyes darting about to take in the scenery, humming an aimless tune. She looked to the bags in her hands, full of food and other products bought with human money, every Saturday, since Steven came under their care. Something warm pushed the ever-so-slight bitterness out of her chest, a feeling she's long come to associate with the human idea of 'maternity'. As they rounded the cape, the last warm rays sinking into their faces, Pearl took a moment, q brief moment, to forget the little troubles in her mind. Well, perhaps not forget, but they receded from the warmth, the purity of the cessation of q beautiful day on the planet Earth. The corner of her mouth rose, just a fraction.

"Oh Steven, I bet you can't beat me to the temple!" She sang, eyes sparkling. The child shook his head in confusion.

"You wanna... race?" Pearl nodded confidently.

"I'll even make some toffees apples if you win!" Steven's face lit up like a sunrise.

"You're on!" Pumping his legs furiously, he took off across the sand. Pearl picked up her pace, mindful of the bags hanging by her wrists. She matched his pace easily.

"You're going to have to try harder than that." Arcs of sand flew from her heels. Steven leant further, pumping his legs as hard as he could. Pearl watched him inch ahead of her, the shadow of a smile gracing her dial.

With a single leap, Steven bypassed the steep, sandy hill and with another, surmounted the stairs leading to the doorway. The mesh screen halted his momentum, bouncing the child back down onto the weather worn boards.

A short time later, the sound of crinkling plastic reached the step's summit. Pushing open the door, she was treated with the sight of Steven, chest puffed out and face red with exertion, standing hands on hips in the middle of the room. Placing the shopping on the counter, she feigned a swoon.

"So this is how it ends? The renegade Pearl of Earth beaten by a newly emerged Rose Quartz soldier?" Steven puffed his chest out further, adopting an obscenely adorable waddling reminiscent of a march.

"Yes! And as the new master of Earth," -he looked up at her- "I demand you supply me with all the toffee apples I can eat!"

"Of course... My Quartz."


End file.
